14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
-Mark 5:13-20
Quick recap from yesterday: Jesus cast out demons from this one man and so the demons left the man to possess 2,000 pigs that jumped over the cliff and into the sea to their deaths. It was pretty crazy. So apparently, animals can be demon possessed, too.
Today though, I want to focus on the response by the people to this miracle. After Jesus restored this once demon-possessed man to normal, the people wanted Jesus to leave. What a strange response. If I were friends with this once demon-possessed man that Jesus just restored, I would be so grateful to Jesus! I wouldn’t ask him to leave.
The reason why the people wanted Jesus to leave is because they just lost big time financially. 2,000 pigs is no joke. That's a lot of bacon. They’re worth a lot of money and Jesus just threw all that money down the drain... or down the sea as the case may be. The people cared more about their financial situation than their friend’s health and well-being. They wanted Jesus to leave because they recognized that being associated with Jesus could mean more financial loss.
In many ways, these people were right about the cost of following Jesus. As followers of Christ, there will be times when we will be called to sacrifice financially for the sake of others. Being an AYL leader, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve taken kids out to eat and they asked if I can spot them only to never get repaid.
If you’re one of these kids, I’m not trying to make you feel bad or feel guilty! I simply want you to know that I’ve accepted the fact that loving people the way Jesus calls us to has a cost. In many ways, I’ve been repaid back many times over whenever I see a teenager begin to get it spiritually and start following Jesus wholeheartedly. People are more important than money.
Are you ready to surrender what you have so that others may be blessed—financially, physically, and/or spiritually? Or will you be like the people here, who complained about their loss in spite of the fact that Jesus just saved their friend.
Here’s a mini-challenge. My church has been supporting a local food shelter who is super stretched financially these days because of COVID-19 and the loss of jobs due to the economy. They need a lot of financial help to stay open and help people. I know you’re teenagers, but if you know how to buy things online, then you know how to contribute online to a non-profit.
Below is the link for Bergen County Family Promise that runs a homeless shelter and a soup kitchen right in our backyard—Hackensack. Instead of buying that next thing from Amazon, or another pair of sneakers, or another Champion sweatshirt, consider donating that money to Bergen County Family Promise. You can help a lot of people.
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